Earlier today, the hacktivist group, Anonymous, shared a YouTube video stating several allegations against the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection. The sole aim of the video is to clarify whether past racism accusations against BAYC were true. Now, the video stands at almost 14,000 views.
In August, a video from an alleged false anonymous Twitter account dropped. In short, the previous video claimed the BAYC NFT collection would be their next targets. Now, it seems this video wasn’t unfounded as Anonymous released a new video on their official channel.
What Accusations Did Anonymous Make Against Bored Ape Yacht Club?
The Hacktivist group said, “the Bored Ape Yacht Collection and Yuga Labs brand is infected with not one or two but dozens of examples of esoteric symbolism and dog whistles. Shockingly, they claim these reflect nazism, racism, simianisation, and paedophilia support.”
The group further stated that one must have a understanding of specific prior knowledge for anyone to “see” the issues. Furthermore they claim these symbols are hidden in plain sight. To explain, they claim you might not notice the relation between BAYC and nazism symbols unless you have some insider knowledge. Luckily for us, they plan to release the information and its context in the coming weeks.
Anonymous started to address different groups of people much later in the video. These include:
- BAYC Holders:
Anonymous urges them to speak on the matter as only a few have come forward and spoken on the allegations. - BAYC and Yuga Labs’ Investors, Partners, and High Profile Enthusiast:
The Anonymous group asks for their stance on the topic regarding nazism, siaminisation, and paedophilia and wonders if they may still stand with BAYC after the discovery. However, they acknowledge holders’ ignorance, as they claim Yuga Labs hides these nazi symbols in an esoteric manner. - Yuga Labs:
There have been multiple statements from Yuga labs denying the accusations, but Anonymous would like to know why they have yet to take any measures to “remove these associations” from their brand.
Does Anonymous Have Any Proof of Their Allegations Against BAYC?
Anonymous claims to have a pitch deck of evidence they plan to share with the supporters of BAYC and Yuga Labs in the coming weeks. However, this particular video provides no proof at all.
However, it is not the first time there have been racism allegations against Yuga Labs. Ryder Ripps first accused Yuga Labs back in August. While some support his claims, others have been vocal about their distrust.
so you’re telling me a fully tattooed hindu jew who only eats cheeseburgers named his company “yuga labs” after the “kali yuga”, a term neo nazi richard spenser has discussed for 7 years, and the logo for the company looks like a nazi emblem… just by coincidence? lol.. pic.twitter.com/ySBlaqAg0c
— RYDER-RIPPS.ETH 🔜 (@ryder_ripps) August 5, 2022
What is Yuga Labs Saying About Allegations Towards BAYC?
While Yuga Labs is yet to respond, they have denied similar allegations in the past. Earlier this year in June, a video shared by YouTuber Philion raised racism claims against BAYC, prompting a response from Yuga Labs.
The co-founder of Yuga Labs, Gordon Goner released a blogpost explaining that they are yet to respond to the continuous allegations. The main reason, he says, is that they are ‘insanely farfetched’. However, with new allegations from the Anonymous team, perhaps it’s not as unlikely as we thought.
Wow… #BAYC #BoredApeYachtClub#Anonymous @anonnewsco
Interested to know what’s in that pitch deck, Anonymous name-checking a lot of investors and brands here… @coinbase @yugalabs and@adidas among a few 😳https://t.co/mNGntXBfby— TheCryptoRat (@TheCryptoRat) September 27, 2022
What Are People Saying About the Video?
There are separate reactions from people on Twitter. Some believe the accusations are wild, another group are waiting for the pitch deck, and others have said nothing. Actually, mainly we haven’t seen much reaction from the community at all.
If you search the #bayc on Twitter, it seems Yuga Labs can’t do any wrong. Which brings us to the real question, what are your thoughts about the constant accusation against BAYC?